I've never done either thing. I've had times when I was really upset with my counselor and was struggling a lot, and was really eager for the session to end. But to leave early seemed like I would be cheating myself. I paid for it - I would be losing money on my investment, for one. It's up to me to keep working hard. I would never just skip an appointment for a similar reason; I would be financially responsible for that appointment, at least partly, and that would be lost money without the chance to do any work. I think it would also be rude to my counselor, who is a nice and caring individual. I have, however, called to cancel an appointment when I was upset. That has happened a few times. In those instances, my counselor called me, and we talked through it. I chose to keep the appointment, and it was always a good thing I did so. Usually when that happened, I was upset with him, and it was something we needed to work through. It's been a long time since any of that happened. Now I keep all of my appointments. If I am tempted to cancel, I listen to that within myself, and tell him about it. We talk about it, and we work out the problem (whatever it is). Usually I learn a lot from it, and our working relationship gets stronger as a result also.

Take care,
ErinBear